Crank case flushing apparatus



March 20, 1934. J, K DELANQ 1,951,649

CRANK CASE FLUSHING APPARATUS Filed June '29, 1935 2 Shams-sheet" 1-3nventor Mamas I ,Ueiayux 1 $7 5 4 EB QQW E Z@WWM (Zttomeg March 20,1934. J, K, DELANQ CRANK CASE FLUSHING APPARATUS Filed June 29,, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 uames ii. lieiamo (3 tirorueg Patented Mar. 20, 1934UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates primarily to the cleaning of the power plants ofautomotive vehicles, and more particularly to the interior of the engineand its component parts, such as the crankcase, etc.

There are many types of apparatus and methods of cleaning and flushing,as it is called, that have been proposed and tried, but these methodsare directed toward the idea of cleaning out the lower crank-case orsump and in most part relate to circulating or forcing a cleansing fluidunder pressure through the normal oil path; that is from the filler pipeto the drain plug, which while removing most of the crank-case settlingsin the path of such flow, does not however get the accumulated grit anddirt from the upper part of the interior of the engine housing andparts, as the oil level due to the design of the engine, cannot beraised higher than the crank-shaft without causing a waste or leakage ofoil through -the main bearings of the engine.

Attempts have also been made to fill the lower crank-case with cleansingfluid and to violently agitate it by either compressed air or highpressure applied to the fluid to make it reach the upper parts of theinterior of the engine in this manner, but this method results inspraying the interior of the engine with a mixture of accuinulated gritand crank-case settlings which liable to cause the dirt to be taken upby the bearings and other working parts, so that this method is not tobe recommended in practice.

in the method that I herewith disclose, do not endeavor to cause anyother than a natural drainage of the crank-case chamber and sedimenttherein contained.

The sediment left in a crank case after the used lubricating oil isdrained ofi, is more or less firmly attached to the sides, top andbottom of the casing or chamber, and is of such viscous consistency thatit will not drain off of its own account unless it is heated and dilutedso that it becomes flowable. This is the method. that I employ to bringthe accumulated viscous oil down from the upper engine parts to thedrain sump where I can easily wash it out together with the bottomcrank-case settlings.

For this purpose I employ heat in the form of steam which is introducedinto the crankcase through the lower or side drain hole in said case,and I mix with this steam a quantity of cleansing fluid, of somesuitable kind, such as oil, etc.; the volume of steam supplied beingsufilcient to heat the crank-case. The steam reaching the mostinaccessible interior parts of the engine where it gives up its heat andcondenses allowing the oil which was carried in the vapor to combinewith the thick accumulations of dirt and oil on the parts, causing thedirt etc.,

to drain down to the sump, the hot condensation to assisting verymaterially.

After the interior of the crank-case has been heated by the steam-oilbath, a sufficient volume of cleansing fluid is then introduced throughthe sump and washes out the drainage, and any c0n- 65 densation thatdoes not drain out readily will evaporate as soon as the engine isoperated, due to interior heat and the breathing action of the engine.

I have-shown in the accompanying drawings a (0 complete cleaning unithaving its various parts arranged for cyclic operations so that all theattendant is called upon to do, after draining off the used lubricatingoil from the crank-case is toin sert the nozzle of the service hose ofthe apparatus to into the drain hole in the crank-case, and throw orclose the main electrical switch to the on position. The various phasesare timed and operated in an automatic manner and without any personalattention on the part of the attendant until the cleanin operation iscompleted.

I have also taken into consideration that the operation must be done inthe least possible time so as not to delay the operation of theautomobile beyond a reasonable time and I have therefore shown a methodemploying a steam unit which is practically instantaneous in itsoperation, which forms the subject matter of a separate ap plication,this unit being supplied with the necessary electrical. controls, etc.,which are all set at the most efficient operating speeds.

The boiler makes use of heat that is generated in pipe coils ofconductive material which a electrically heated by being in shortcii'cuite relation to a primary winding and a magnetic field q whichheats the pipe coil instantly, and water be ing pumped through this coilis evaporated intesteam.

The water feed pump is arranged to supply a certain predetermined amountof water to the boiler pipe coils and I make use of the water therebyconsumed to control the time that steam cycle shall operate, and when acertain amount of water has been converted into steam, a float switchwhich is controlled by the water level, sets into operation a secondpump unit for Washing out the engine crank-case. When the second pumpunit has lowered the flushing oil level to a predetermined point, afloat switch actuated by the 011 causes the main switch to open and theentire device ceases to operate.

While I have here shown the several units of my apparatus as mountedupon a hand truck, it is understood that they may be mounted in anydesired manner or in any convenient place, and be of any desired sizeand materials.

with these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certainconstruction and combination of parts, system and method, as willhereinafter be fully described in the specification and illustrated inthe drawings which form a part hereof and in which like figures ofreference refer to corresponding parts in all of the views, and thatslight changes may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation, partly in section of a greasing pit,with an automobile in position above, and my device in position forcleaning the crank-case.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view in section of the nozzle which isattached to the service hose and which is entered into the drain hole inthe crank-case.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the valve for the nozzle.

Figure 4 indicates a side form of nozzle for use where the drain hole ison the side of the crankcase.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatical view, showing the various parts and theelectrical circuits for operating the same.

Figure 6 shows a detail view of one of the mercury switches.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail view of the top of the tanks 29 and 30.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, of the drawings, a greasing pit isindicated by the numeral 10, and the ground line by 11, the runways 13for the automobile 12; while my portable apparatus is mounted upon thehand truck 14, of which one side is shown in a raised position todisplay the units mounted therein, and which comprise the oil tank 15,the water tank 16, the boiler 17, the motors 18 and 19, the pumps 20, 21and '22, to: gether with the main electrical switch 115 and the floatoperated switches 104 and 105, and the relay 131. The filters 27 and 28and the extra water and oil tanks 29 and 30, are mounted on the oppositeside of the truck 14, and therefore can not be seen in Figure 1.

The fiexible service hose 31 shown is connected at one end to the boiler17 in the truck 14 and has mounted on the other end the nozzle 32; saidnozzle 32 being mounted on an adjustable standard 33 in the pit 10, andsupplied with a drain pipe 34 and a waste pail 35 to receive the oildrained from the crank-case 36 of the engine.

The nozzle 32 as here shown in Figure 2, comprises a tubular member 40,having an outer funnel shaped drain shield 41, which is formed with anoutlet 42 to which is attached the drain hose 34 by the clamp 37; thelower parts of said tubular member 40. having an inlet pipe 43 to whichis attached the end of the flexible hose 3-1 by the clamp 44; while tothe lower end of said tubular member 40 is attached the upper end of anadjustable rod 45 mounted in the standard 33 and held therein by a setscrew 47 in adjustable relation with the crank-case 36, so that theupper end of said nozzle is entered into the drain hole 48 of thecrank-case 36, and a bracket 49 is also provided to hold the waste pail35.

The upper end of the nozzle member 40 is formed with a valve seat 50,within which is mounted a valve 51, formed as shown in Figure 3, with aseries of grooves 46 in its face to prevent it from closing tightly, andthis valve 51 is secured on the upper end of a rod 52 which is providedwith an elongated hole 54 near its lower end and is slidably mounted ona cross rod 53 secured in the sides or the member 40; while a spiralspring 55 is placed upon said rod 52 above the valve 51, and a nut 56 issecured on the rod 52 so that said valve is normally held against theseat 50, being raised or opened by the pressure of the steam andcleaning fluid passing therethrough.

Referring to Figure 5, of the drawings, the apparatus comprises a watertank 16 which is formed with a filler spout 56, an overflow 57, and adrain and which is connected by a pipe 58 to a filter 28, and from saidfilter 28 by a pipe 60 to a pump 20 which is driven by a motor 18; thewater being carried from said pump 20 by a pipe 63 through a check valve64 to a small feed water heater pipe coil 65 which is shown as woundupon the upper part of the transformer 66, but which could be placed atthe bottom if desired. The preheated water is carried from saidpreheater coil 65 to one end of a larger heater pipe coil 67 which iswound upon one leg of the transformer 66; the other end being connectedby a pipe 68 to the flexible service hose 31, which is also suppliedwith a check valve 69 to prevent any back flow of either steam or oil.

The oil tank 15 is of similar design and is also formed with a fillerspout 71, an overflow 72, drain 73, and is connected by a pipe 74 to thefilter 27, and from said filter 27 the oil is carried by a pipe 76 to anoil pump 21 which is also rotated by the motor 18. From said pump 21 theoil is carried by a small pipe 78 to a T 79 which is placed in the feedpipe 68 adjacent the end where the hose 31 is attached and enters, intosaid pipe 68 and is so arranged mechanically that the passing steam inthe pipe.68 atomizes the oil, mixing it with the steam and the mixturethus formed is discharged through the service hose 31 and nozzle intothe crank-case. The oil from the filter 27 is also carried by the pipes76 and 80 from the tank 15 to a larger pump 22 which is driven by themotor 19 and from this oil pump 22 the oil is carried through a pipe 83and check valve 81 to the feed pipe 68 and enters the same at a pointbetween the valve 69 and the small oil pipe 79, the purpose of whichwill be explained later.

Both the water tank 16 and the oil tank 15 are attached by the pipes 84and 85 to the supply water and oil tanks 29 and 30 which are used tosupply additional water and oil to the regular tanks should a very largeengine crank-case be cleaned; the amount being fed from said tanks 29and 30 being regulated by the displacement members 88 which are mountedin said tanks and which are adjusted by a threaded rod 89 which isthreaded in the member 88 and is rotated in the top 137 of the tanks andthe lower bearing 136 by the handle 90.

The tops 137 shown in Figure 7, are formed 'with a casing having thereina geared plate 138 in mesh with and rotated by a pinion 139 on the rod89, and said plate 138 has thereon figures 142 which show through awindow 141 in said casing :to indicate the amount of liquid that is inthe tanks 29 and 30.

Each of the oil and water tanks 15 and 16 have 4 their tops formed withthe bearings 91 within which are slidably mounted the rods 92 and 93,and to the lower ends of these rods are secured the floats 94 and 95,which rest upon and are operated by the liquid in said tanks.

Above these tanks 15 and 16 is mounted a support 96 to which are pivotedthe inner ends 0! the arms 97 and 98 which are also connected to therods 92 and 93 in such a manner that these arms 97 and 98 will be movedup and down by the floats 94 and 95 as the liquid in the tanks 15 and 16is raised or lowered; and each of said arms 97 and 98 is supplied with apointer 99 to indicate on the dials 101 the position of the floats inthe tanks and the'amount of liquid therein.

On each of the arms 97 and 98 are mounted by the rods 102 and 103 themercury switches 104 and 105, each of said switches having fourterminals 106, 107, 108 and 109 on the switch 104, and the terminalsllO,111, 112 and 113 on the switch 105.

The electrical wiring for the apparatus is'as follows:

The main feed wire 114 leads in to one side of a main switch 115 andfrom said switch to one side of a primary coil 116 which is mounted onthe transformer 66. The other side of the primary coil 116 is fed fromthe main line by the wire 117. A tap 100 is taken from the wire 114 to apush button 121, and from this push button 121 by a wire 123 to a highresistance 120 and to the wire 117.

To supply heating current to the small preheater coil 65, said coil 65is short circuited by a strip 122 and has mounted thereon and insulatedtherefrom a thermostat 82, one terminal 152 of which is connected by thewire 123 to the feed wire 117, the other terminal 153 being connected bythe wire 124 to the feed wire 114.

Electrical current is supplied to the larger heater pipe coil 67 in asimilar manner, the pipe coil 67 being shorted by a strip 125 securedacross the same, and upon which is mounted and insulated therefrom athermostat 126, having the, terminals 127 and 128, the terminal 127being connected by a wire 129 to the feed wire 114 and to the terminals109 and 111 on the mercury switches 104 and 105; while the terminal 128is connected by the wire 130 to a relay magnet 131, and from there by awire 132 to one terminal of the motor 18, and to the main feed line 117.This relay 131 closes a circuit formed by the wire 133 from the mainline 117, and a wire 132 from one terminal of the motor 18; the otherterminal of the motor 18 being connected by the wire 134 to the terminal108 of the switch 104. One terminal of the motor 19 is connected by thewire 135 to the terminal 107 of the switch 104; and the other terminalof the motor 19 is connected by the wire 119 to the main line 117.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The tanks 15 and 16 are filled to the amount of oil and water as shownon the indicators 101, which show the amount in each tank and which areadjusted by the displacements 88 in the tanks 29 and 30, for either alarger or smaller crankcase to be flushed or cleaned.

The nozzle 40-is placed in the drain hole 48 of the crank-case 36. Themain switch 115 is closed which energizes the transformer primary 116.Heat is then' developed in the secondary 67 and preheater pipe coil 65by reason of the short circuiting strip 122. The thermostat 82 isarranged to act in case'anything goes wrong with the water supply. Solong as cold water is pumped through the feed water coil the temperaturecan not go very high. If however the water should fail, the water in thepreheater coil will turn into steam and this will raise the temperatureand cause the thermostat contacts 82 and 140 to close and short circuitthe coil 118 bi the main circuit breaker and open the circuit.

The water pump 20 being driven by the motor 18 draws water from the tank16 through the filter 28 and forces the water through the pipe 63 andcheck valve 64 through the preheater pipe coil 65 into the large heaterpipe coil 67, where it is instantly converted into steam, which passesthrough the pipe 68 and valve 69 to the service hose 31, and through thenozzle 40 into the crankcase 36.

Pump 21 is alsodriven by the motor 18, pumping oil from the tank 15through the filter 28 to the pump 21, and from there through the smallpipe 78 and injecting same into the pipe 68 in the form of spray. Thisoperation is continued until the water in the tank 16 reaches a lowlevel so that the float 94 falls sufiiciently low to cause the mercuryswitch 10% to tilt over and interrupt the circuit through the twoterminals 108 and 109 stopping the motor 18 and pumps 20 and 21, andclosing the circuits through the terminals 107 and 106 energizing themotor 19 which drives the large oil pump 22 which draws oil from thetank 15 through the filter 27 and pipes 76 and to the pump 22 and fromthere forces the oil through the pipe 83 and Valve 81 to thefeed pipe 68and there through the service pipe 31 to the nozzle 40 and into thecrankcase, the oil being drained therefrom through the drain pipe 34into the pail 35: the greater flow of oil which enters the crankcasehaving sufficient pressure to thoroughly wash out the crank-case.

The device could be so arranged that the action of the float 94 and theswitches operated thereby would cause the motor 19 and pump 22 to beoperated while steam was still being generated in the pipe coil 67 sothat the greater volume of oil would be mixed with the steam.

When the float 95 in the oil tank 15 reaches the lower level of itstravel due to the oil having been pumped out of the tank 15. Said floatoperates the mercury switch 105 tilting it and causing the circuitthrough the contacts 110 and 111 to break. closing the circuit throughthe terminals 112 and 113 which will short circuit the coil 118 of thecircuit breaker, which is energized through the resistance 120 and thedemagnetizing of the coil 118 causes the contacts of the switch 115 toopen the circuit 114 and 117 to the transformer 66 and thus stops themotor 19.

The thermostat 126 is a regulator for the pipe coil 67 and if cooled bylow temperature of the water, this thermostat 126 will stop the actionof the pump 20 for a second or two, and it will also allow the pipecoils 67 to be heated before the water is pumped into them.

It is to be noted that both the tanks 15 and 16 must be filled to asuflicient level before the pumps 20 and 21 will operate and the circuitbreaker 115 will remain closed.

The check valves 64, 69 and 81 are provided to prevent the steam or oilfrom backing up into the feed lines.

The transformer circuit could be caused to operate if desired byemploying a relay actuated by a push button of the open and closed" typeif desired; and by wind ng another heating coil around the core of thetransformer 66, the oil could be heated independently of the water orsteam mixture.-

As shown in Figure 4, for use with a crankcase having a side drain 48,thenozzle 40 is provided with a bent to enter the side, and the member41 is so shaped as to catch the drain.

In Figure 6, is shown an enlarged detail of one of the mercury switcheswhich are of the usual type.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an automobile crank-case cleaner, a unit compris'ng anelectrically heated boiler, a Water supply system for said boiler, acleansing fluid supply system, a flexible pipe connection for supplyingsteam and oil to the interior of the crankcase, automatic controls toregulate the supply of steam from said boiler and the cleansing fiu'd,to the interior of said crank-case.

2. In an automobile crank-case flushing device arranged for automaticcyclic operation after being manually turned on means for supplying ajet of steam and a cleaning fluid to the crankcase for a predeterm nedtime, means for tuming off the steam, and for continuing to supply thecleaning fluid, and means to automatically stop said supply after apredetermined amount of cleaning fluid has been admitted to saidcrankcase.

3. In an automatic automobile crank-case cleaning system, comprising anelectrically heated steam unit, a pipe connection introduced into theinterior of the crank-case, a water supplying means for the steam unit,a cleaning fluid supplying means, electrically controlled devicesarranged for cyclc operation to admit steam to the flexible pipeconnection, in an admixture with a limited amount of cleaning fluid withthe steam, and to increase the amount of cleaning fluid when apredetermined amount of steam has passed into the crank-case and causethe electrical connections of the various units to be turned off when apredetermined amount of cleaning fluid has been admitted to thecrank-case.

4. A crank-case cleaner and flusher, comprising a water supply tank anda cleansing liquid supply tank, an electrically operated boiler andmeans for transferring the water from the supply tank to the bo'ler, aservice connection between the boiler and the crank-case for introducingthe steam therein, means for forcing the cleansing liquid from thesupply tank into and mixing with the steam, means controlled by thequantity of water in the supply tank for shutting off the steam enteringthe crank-case and means for increasing the volume of liquid enteringthe crank-case to flush the same.

5. An automobile crank-case cleaner, comprising an electrically heatedboiler and a water supply therefor, a cleaning fluid supply system andmeans for feeding the same, a flexible pipe connection for introducingboth steam and oil into said crank-case, automat'c controls forregulating the supply of steam to said crank-case, automatic controlsfor regulating the supply of oil to said crank-case, and for regulatingthe supply of a mixture of both steam and oil to the interior of thecrank-case.

under pressure for heating the same, means actuated by the amount ofadmixture of steam and cleaning flud consumed during a predeterminedperiod of time for interrupting the steam supply, means for increasingthe volume of cleaning fluid after the steam has been cut off, and meansfor regulating the flow of cleaning fluid thus used during apredetermined period of time by the volume of clean'ng fluid thusconsumed.

3. In a system for cleaning automobile crankcases, the comb'nation witha flash type steam boiler electrically heated, of means for supplyingwater to said boiler, means for injecting steam from the boiler to theinterior of the crank-case, means for introducng a cleaning liquid intosaid crank-case in admixture with the steam for heating the same, andmeans for increasing the volume of cleaning liquid without the steam.

9. In a system for cleaning automobile crankcases, the combination withan electrically operated flash boiler, and means for injecting the steamtherefrom into the crank-case for a predetermined period of time to heatthe same, of means for pumping water'to said boiler, means controlled bythe quantity of water consumed for actuating said pumpng means, meansfor pumping a cleaning liquid to and mixing the same with. the steam,and means for increasing the volume of cleaning liquid pumped into thecrankcase after the steam has been consumed, and means for discont'nuingthe pumping of the cleaning liquid controlled by the amount of cleaningfluid consumed.

10. In a system for cleaning automobile crankcases, the combination withan electrically heated flash water boiler and means for injecting thesteam therefrom into the crank-case for a predeterm'ned period of timeto heat the same, of automatic pumping means for supplying apredetermined quantity of water'to the boiler and adapted to cut outwhen the predetermined quantity of water has been consumed, an automaticmeans for pumping a cleaning fluid to and mixing the same with the steamduring its injection into the crank-case, an automatic pumping means forforcing under pressure a cleaning liquid into said crank-case andadapted to cut out after a predetermined quantitypf the cleaning fluidhas been consumed.

JAMES K. DELANO.

